In the newest AARP magazine, there is an article called, “Is sitting the new smoking?” At first I chuckled at the comparison, but as a physical therapist I educate patients about the dangers of too much sitting. I talk to them about back pain, loss of muscle strength and balance issues. If we don’t use what we have, we most definitely lose it. Sitting also causes higher blood sugar levels, higher blood pressure, and more edema in the legs.
Can sitting be as dangerous as smoking? Well it doesn’t cause cancer but it does contribute to chronic disease that includes pain, diabetes, heart disease and stroke. I have already seen evidence that the incidence of all of those chronic disease processes cause premature death and aging and affect more people than cancer in this society.
So, my answer to this simple question is yes. Sitting is the new smoking and has as much of a stigma attached to it for the current generation. What is to be done about it? Education about the benefits of movement. Movement is about health and life. Movement is the movement of 2012! Promote it as much as possible and live it every day!
